Capacity upgrade on-demand for i/o adapters

ABSTRACT

A system and method are provided for performing capacity upgrade on-demand operations for input/output (I/O) adapters of a data processing device. The system and method involve providing a data processing device with additional I/O adapters in excess of current I/O capacity requirements of an owner/user of the data processing device. These additional I/O adapters remain in an inactive state after booting of the data processing device until they are specifically activated by the owner/user. Although inactive, memory resources are reserved for the address translation data structures for these inactive I/O adapters. The owner/user may, at a later time, obtain an activation code from a provider of the data processing device and enter the activation code into a hardware management console to thereby activate the additional I/O adapters. The reserved memory resources are then utilized to initialize the address translation data structures for these now active I/O adapters.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present application relates generally to an improved data processingsystem and method. More specifically, the present application isdirected to a system and method for providing capacity upgrade on-demandof I/O adapters.

2. Description of Related Art

For purchasers of computing systems, the upgradeability of the computingsystems is of great importance. That is, purchasers want to know that astheir needs for computing system resources change, their purchasedcomputing systems are able to be upgraded to meet their changing needs.Typically, such upgradeability has been provided by way of expansionports and removable devices that may be attached to the computing systemvia such ports.

With high end computing systems, such as server computing systems andthe like, upgrading typically requires that the owner of the servercomputing system order additional devices from a producer of suchdevices and have a customer engineer from that producer install thedevice in the server computing system. For example, if a customer wishesto expand their input/output (I/O) resources, the customer must order anew I/O adapter from the manufacturer of the I/O adapter, wait fordelivery of the part, and then schedule a customer engineer from themanufacturer to come to the location of the server computing system toinstall the new I/O adapter into the server computing system. If theowner of the server computing system wants the new I/O adapter to beinstalled while the server computing system is running, the owner mustreserve an expansion slot of the server computing system manually beforeinitial program load and then follow a concurrent maintenance procedureto add the I/O adapter, i.e. the field replaceable unit (FRU).

It can be seen from the above that the current method of addingresources to a computing system is costly and time consuming. If themanufacturer does not charge explicitly for the customer engineer's timeto install the new device into the server computing system, the costwill typically be passed on to the owner of the server computing systemin other ways, e.g., in the cost of the server computing system itself,in the cost of the new device, or the like. Moreover, the owner of theserver computing system must spend a large amount of time waiting fordelivery of the new device and waiting for the customer engineer to cometo the site of the server computing system to install the new device.Thus, while the owner of the server computing system may have animmediate need for additional resources, this need may not be able to bemet immediately.

SUMMARY

The illustrative embodiments provide a system and method for capacityupgrade on-demand for input/output (I/O) adapters. In a preferredembodiment, a mechanism is provided for providing capacity upgradeon-demand for I/O hub adapters, such as the GX+I/O adapter used withsuch server computing systems as the IBM eserver p5-590 or IBM eserverp5-595, available from International Business Machines, Inc. of Armonk,N.Y. The capacity upgrade on-demand ability allows a user, such as anowner of a server computing system, to activate previously inactive I/Oadapters in the server computing system by entry of an appropriateactivation code. The user may obtain the activation code from a providerof the server computing system through any of a number of means.

With the mechanisms of the illustrative embodiments, a user may order aserver computing system with additional I/O adapters in excess of thecurrent I/O resource needs of the user. The number of additional I/Oadapters may be dependent upon a number of different factors includingthe user's expected future needs for I/O resources, the expectedlifetime of the server computing device, cost-benefit analysis, or anyof a number of other factors that may typically go into a businessdecision as to what type of computing system to purchase for a user'sneeds.

When the server computing system is deployed at the user's site, aninitial boot of the server computing system is performed to bring theserver computing system on-line. As part of this initial boot operation,in order to ensure that there will be enough memory reserved fortranslation control entry (TCE) tables if the additional inactive I/Oadapters are activated, i.e. brought on-line, the server computingsystem reserves the necessary memory for all inactive I/O adapters inaddition to the activated I/O adapters. As is generally known in theart, TCE tables are table data structures used by I/O bridges totranslate addresses generated by I/O devices into physical memoryaddresses for purposes of direct memory access (DMA) operations to movedata directly between I/O adapters and system memory.

The server computing system is provided with a hardware managementconsole, either running on the server computing system, or coupled tothe server computing system and running on a separate computing device.The hardware management console is responsible for configuring theserver computing system. As part of this hardware management console,interfaces are provided through which a user may select to perform anon-demand capacity upgrade of I/O adapters in the server computingsystem. In response to the selection of such an operation via theinterfaces, an interface for inputting an appropriate activation code isprovided. An activation code entered via the interface is then validatedby the hardware management console.

Based on a valid activation code, the hardware management consoleperforms the necessary operations for bringing on-line one or more ofthe additional inactive I/O adapters provided in the server computingsystem. For example, the hardware management console may initiate theexecution of a small portion of boot code that boots the I/O adapter andconfigures the I/O adapter's TCE tables for use in performing DMAaddress translations. Since the memory for such TCE tables has alreadybeen reserved by the server computing system, the small portion of bootcode may be executed without having to interrupt the normal operation ofthe server computing system. That is, the server computing system maycontinue to service user requests while activating the additional I/Oadapter by executing the small portion of boot code.

The activate code for activating the inactive I/O adapter provided inthe server computing device may be obtained in any suitable way. Forexample, the user may call the provider of the server computing deviceand purchase an additional license for the additional I/O adapter. Inresponse, the provider of the server computing device may provide theuser with an activation code for activating the I/O adaptercorresponding to the purchased additional license. As a further example,a user may, via the hardware management console, send a request for theactivation code to a separate server computing system corresponding tothe provider of the user's server computing system. The request may beauthenticated and a response may be provided with the requestedactivation code, after the additional license has been purchased. Othermechanisms for obtaining the activation code may be used with theillustrative embodiments, without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

By use of the system and method of the illustrative embodiments,additional I/O resources may be activated virtually immediately uponrequest by a user of a server computing system. Because the I/Oresources are already present in the server computing system in aninactive state and have had memory for the I/O resources reserved, theI/O resources may be activated on-demand and without interrupting theoperation of the server computing system. Thus, it no longer isnecessary to wait for a field replaceable unit (FRU) to be shipped tothe user's site and to have a customer engineer install the FRU into theserver computing system. Rather, the FRU is already present at theuser's site and installed and need only be activated by purchasing theright to activate the FRU. This right to activate is embodied in anactivation code that is entered by the user and which causes the FRU tobe booted to an active state.

In one illustrative embodiment, a method, in a data processing system,for enabling an inactive input/output (I/O) adapter of the dataprocessing system is provided. The method may comprise booting the dataprocessing system to an operational state in which the inactive I/Oadapter is inactive and not initialized after the data processing systemis booted. Memory resources for the inactive I/O adapter of the dataprocessing system may be reserved. The method may further comprisereceiving a request to activate the inactive I/O adapter and executing aminiboot code sequence for initializing the inactive I/O adapter usingthe reserved memory resources in response to receiving the request toactivate the inactive I/O adapter. The request to activate the inactiveI/O adapter may be received from a hardware management console computingdevice coupled to the data processing system.

The data processing system may comprise a plurality of I/O adapters. Afirst set of I/O adapters in the plurality of I/O adapters may beactivated by the booting of the data processing system and a second setof I/O adapters may remain inactive after booting of the data processingsystem.

Receiving the request to activate the inactive I/O adapter may comprisereceiving an activation code for activating the inactive I/O adapter.The activation code may be valid for activating a plurality of inactiveI/O adapters in the data processing system. Receiving the activationcode may comprise receiving a user input specifying the activation codevia a user interface.

The method may further comprise verifying the activation code andoutputting an error message if the activation code is not determined tobe valid as a result of the verification of the activation code. Theexecution of the miniboot code may be performed in response to theactivation code being determined to be valid as a result of theverification of the activation code.

The method may further comprise sending a request for an activationcode, for activating the inactive I/O adapter, to a remote server inresponse to receiving the request to activate the inactive I/O adapter.The activation code may then be received from the remote server. Theactivation code received from the server may be valid for activating aplurality of inactive I/O adapters in the data processing system.

In other illustrative embodiments, a computer program product comprisinga computer usable medium having a computer readable program is provided.The computer readable program, when executed on a computing device,causes the computing device to perform various ones, and combinationsof, the operations outlined above with regard to the method illustrativeembodiment.

In yet another illustrative embodiment, an apparatus is provided. Theapparatus may comprise a processor and a memory coupled to theprocessor. The memory may comprise instructions which, when executed bythe processor, cause the processor to perform various ones, andcombinations of, the operations outlined above with regard to the methodillustrative embodiment.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will bedescribed in, or will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in theart in view of, the following detailed description of the exemplaryembodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention, as well as a preferred mode of use and further objectivesand advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to thefollowing detailed description of illustrative embodiments when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a pictorial representation of an exemplary distributeddata processing system in which aspects of the illustrative embodimentsmay be implemented;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary data processing system inwhich aspects of the illustrative embodiments may be implemented;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating an operation of oneillustrative embodiment for performing capacity upgrades on-demand by anequipment owner;

FIG. 4A illustrates a first user interface that may be provided by aHardware Management Console (HMC) for initiating a capacity upgradeon-demand operation in accordance with one illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 4B illustrates a second user interface for entry of an activationcode in accordance with one illustrative embodiment; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart outlining an exemplary operation for performing acapacity upgrade on-demand operation in accordance with one illustrativeembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

With reference now to the figures and in particular with reference toFIGS. 1-2, exemplary diagrams of data processing environments areprovided in which illustrative embodiments of the present invention maybe implemented. It should be appreciated that FIGS. 1-2 are onlyexemplary and are not intended to assert or imply any limitation withregard to the environments in which aspects or embodiments of thepresent invention may be implemented. Many modifications to the depictedenvironments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

With reference now to the figures, FIG. 1 depicts a pictorialrepresentation of an exemplary distributed data processing system inwhich aspects of the illustrative embodiments may be implemented.Distributed data processing system 100 may include a network ofcomputers in which embodiments of the illustrative embodiments may beimplemented. The distributed data processing system 100 contains atleast one network 102, which is the medium used to provide communicationlinks between various devices and computers connected together withindistributed data processing system 100. The network 102 may includeconnections, such as wire, wireless communication links, or fiber opticcables.

In the depicted example, server 104 and server 106 are connected tonetwork 102 along with storage unit 108. In addition, clients 110, 112,and 114 are also connected to network 102. These clients 110, 112, and114 may be, for example, personal computers, network computers, or thelike. In the depicted example, server 104 provides data, such as bootfiles, operating system images, and applications to the clients 110,112, and 114. Clients 110, 112, and 114 are clients to server 104 in thedepicted example. Distributed data processing system 100 may includeadditional servers, clients, and other devices not shown.

In the depicted example, distributed data processing system 100 is theInternet with network 102 representing a worldwide collection ofnetworks and gateways that use the Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols to communicatewith one another. At the heart of the Internet is a backbone ofhigh-speed data communication lines between major nodes or hostcomputers, consisting of thousands of commercial, governmental,educational and other computer systems that route data and messages. Ofcourse, the distributed data processing system 100 may also beimplemented to include a number of different types of networks, such asfor example, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the like. As stated above, FIG. 1 is intended as anexample, not as an architectural limitation for different embodiments ofthe present invention, and therefore, the particular elements shown inFIG. 1 should not be considered limiting with regard to the environmentsin which the illustrative embodiments of the present invention may beimplemented.

With particular regard to the illustrative embodiments, server 104 maybe, for example, a server computing device comprising one or moreprocessors and a plurality of input/output (I/O) adapters, some of whichare active and others of which are inactive. For example, an individualor organization may purchase the server 104 with additional inactive I/Oadapters in expectation of future requirements for additional I/Oadapters, e.g., as the organization or its customers demand additionalI/O capacity. The illustrative embodiments herein provide a mechanismfor activating such additional I/O adapters in the server 104 in theevent that additional I/O capacity is required.

In one exemplary embodiment, the server 104 is an IBM eserver p5-590 orp5-595 server, available from International Business Machines, Inc. ofArmonk, N.Y. The server 104 may have a hardware management console (HMC)associated with it, either provided on a separate computing device incommunication with the server 104, or provided within the server 104,which is used to configure the server 104. As one of the configurationfunctions provided by the HMC, a capacity upgrade on-demandfunctionality is provided. This capacity upgrade on-demand functionalityprovides the HMC with the ability to dynamically activate inactive I/Oadapters, processors, and portions of memory, for use by an owner of theserver 104. Through the HMC, an owner of the server 104 may enterappropriate commands and codes for activating the inactive I/O adapters,processors, and portions of memory so as to meet the current needs ofthe organization and customers of the organization. Such codes may bepurchased from a provider of the server 104 when needed. Thus, an ownerof the server 104 need only purchase the amount of I/O capacity,processing capacity, and memory capacity, the owner needs as his/her/itsneeds change.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating one possible servercomputing device in which exemplary aspects of the illustrativeembodiments may be implemented. It should be noted that FIG. 2 is asimplified diagram of a server computing device for purposes ofillustrating the additional inactive I/O adapters being provided in theserver computing device. Additional components of the server computingdevice may be provided which are not depicted in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shouldnot be considered limiting with regard to the particular configurationand elements that may be included in a server computing device whichutilizes the mechanisms of the illustrative embodiments.

The example shown in FIG. 2 is of an IBM eserver p5-590 server computingdevice, however it should be appreciated that the illustrativeembodiments are not limited to such. Rather, the mechanisms of theillustrative embodiments may be utilized with any computing device inwhich inactive I/O adapters are provided for later activation using themechanisms of the illustrative embodiments. In fact, the mechanisms ofthe illustrative embodiments are not limited to server computing devicesand may be utilized with any computing device that may make use of themechanisms of the illustrative embodiments to provided capacity upgradeon-demand of I/O adapters.

As shown in FIG. 2, the server computing device comprises one or moremultichip modules 200 (only one of which is shown in detail in FIG. 2for simplicity). Each multichip module 200 includes a plurality ofprocessor chips 210-240. Each processor chip contains one or moreprocessor units (PUs) or cores 212-214, 222-224, 232-234, and 242-244, alevel 2 (L2) cache 216, 226, 236, 246, and chip-to-chip communicationcircuitry 218, 228, 238, and 248. Each processor chip 210-240 is incommunication with a level 3 (L3) cache 250, 252, 254 and 256. Theprocessor chips 210-240 are further in communication with memory devices260-274.

A plurality of I/O adapters 280-286 are provided with which theprocessor chips 210-240 may communicate. In the depicted example, theI/O adapters 280-286 are GX+I/O hub adapters, such as may be used withthe IBM eserver p5-590 or p5-595 server computing devices, although thepresent invention is not limited to such I/O adapters. Communicationbetween the various elements in FIG. 2 may be facilitated by one or morebuses of a bus system, bridges, and the like, as is generally known inthe art. The bus system may be implemented using any type ofcommunication fabric or architecture that provides for a transfer ofdata between different components or devices attached to the fabric orarchitecture.

With regard to the illustrative embodiments, some of the I/O adapters,e.g., I/O adapters 280-282, may be active and in communication with theprocessor chips 210-240 while others, e.g., I/O adapters 284-286, may beinactive and are not being communicated with by the processor chips210-240. These I/O adapters 284-286 may be activated at a later time byuse of the mechanisms of the illustrative embodiments described herein.Once activated, the I/O adapters 284-286 may be placed in communicationwith the processor chips 210-240 such that the processor chips 210-240may communicate with these I/O adapters 284-286 in a similar manner asthey communicate with I/O adapters 280-282.

An operating system runs on one or more of the processing units (PUs) ofthe processor chips 210-240. For example, the server processing devicemay run the Advanced Interactive Executive (AIX®) operating systemand/or the LINUX® operating system (AIX is a trademark of InternationalBusiness Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, orboth, while LINUX is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States,other countries, or both). Instructions for the operating system, theobject-oriented programming system, and applications or programs may belocated on storage devices (not shown), such as a hard disk, and may beloaded into memory devices 260-274 for execution by the processing units212-214, 222-224, 232-234, and 242-244.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware inFIGS. 1-2 may vary depending on the implementation. Other internalhardware or peripheral devices, such as flash memory, equivalentnon-volatile memory, or optical disk drives and the like, may be used inaddition to or in place of the hardware depicted in FIGS. 1-2. Moreover,the data processing device depicted in FIG. 2 may take the form of anyof a number of different data processing devices including clientcomputing devices, server computing devices, a tablet computer, laptopcomputer, telephone or other communication device, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), or the like. In some illustrative examples, the dataprocessing device may be a portable computing device which is configuredwith flash memory to provide non-volatile memory for storing operatingsystem files and/or user-generated data, for example. Essentially, thedata processing device shown in FIG. 2 may be any known or laterdeveloped data processing device without architectural limitation.

The illustrative embodiments provide a system and method for capacityupgrade on-demand for input/output (I/O) adapters. With the mechanismsof the illustrative embodiments, a user may order a server computingdevice, such as that shown in FIG. 2, for example, with additional I/Oadapters 284-286 in excess of the current I/O resource needs of theuser. The number of additional I/O adapters 284-286 may be dependentupon a number of different factors including the user's expected futureneeds for I/O resources, the expected lifetime of the server computingdevice, cost-benefit analysis, or any of a number of other factors thatmay typically go into a business decision as to what type of computingsystem to purchase for a user's needs.

When the server computing device is deployed at the user's site, aninitial boot of the server computing device is performed using bootcode, which may be provided in firmware for example, to bring the servercomputing device on-line. This boot code may perform a scan of thehardware of the server computing device, initialize the hardware devicesand reserve resources for those hardware devices, and load a systemimage into memory. As part of this initial boot operation, in order toensure that there will be enough memory reserved for translation controlentry (TCE) tables if the additional inactive I/O adapters 284-286 areactivated, i.e. brought on-line, the boot code for the server computingdevice reserves the necessary memory for all inactive I/O adapters284-286 in addition to the activated I/O adapters 280-282.

While the boot code reserves memory resources for the inactive I/Oadapters 284-286, the boot code does not initialize the inactive I/Oadapters 284-286. Rather, they remain inactive, i.e. dormant, untilactivated at a later time by the execution of a small portion of bootcode, i.e. miniboot code, in firmware for powering-up, configuring, andinitializing the inactive I/O adapters 284-286. The miniboot code mayscan the I/O devices coupled to the previously inactive I/O adapters284-286 and may initialize them in a manner similar to the initial bootoperation.

The reservation of memory resources is done during initial boot of theserver computing device in order to ensure that these memory resourceswill be available for storing the TCE tables necessary for on-demandactivation of the inactive I/O adapters 284-286. As is generally knownin the art, TCE tables are table data structures used by I/O bridges totranslate addresses generated by I/O devices into physical memoryaddresses for purposes of direct memory access (DMA) operations to movedata directly between I/O adapters and system memory. The TCE tables aremanaged by a trusted firmware component of the server computing devicereferred to as a hypervisor (not shown) which is responsible forvirtualizing system memory and managing resources for suchvirtualization and access of system memory through such virtualization.The TCE tables are stored in system memory and thus, the portion ofsystem memory needed for these tables needs to be reserved. Moreinformation regarding TCE tables and their use in DMA operations may befound in the article “Logical Partition Security in the IBM eserverpSeries 690,” available atwww-03.ibm.com/servers/eserver/pseries/hardware/whitepapers/1par_security.html,which is hereby incorporated by reference. Additional informationregarding TCE tables may be found in “Advanced POWER Virtualization onIBM eserver p5 Servers: Architecture and Performance Considerations,”November 2005, page 80, available atwww.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg245768.pdf, which is herebyincorporated by reference.

The server computing device is provided with a hardware managementconsole, either running on the server computing device, or coupled tothe server computing device and running on a separate computing device.The hardware management console (HMC) is responsible for configuring andmanaging the hardware of the server computing device as well aslow-level software functions. The HMC provides for logical partitioningcontrol, creation of partition and system profiles, boot, start, andstop actions for the server computing device or individual partitions,displaying server computing device and partition status, creating andstoring configuration backup information, etc. For more informationregarding one type of HMC, reference is made to the IBM eserver p5-590and 595 System Handbook, March 2005, available from InternationalBusiness Machines, Inc. of Armonk, N.Y. and atwww.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg249119.pdf.

With specific importance to the present invention, the HMC is providedwith the functionality to provide capacity upgrade on-demand of I/Oadapters. The HMC may respond to user inputs via user interfacesprovided by the HMC or command line commands, to perform on-demandactivation of inactive I/O adapters 284-286. In response to theselection of an on-demand capacity upgrade operation via the userinterfaces, for example, an interface for inputting an appropriateactivation code may be provided. An activation code entered via theinterface may then be validated by the HMC.

Based on a valid activation code, the HMC may perform the necessaryoperations for bringing on-line one or more of the additional inactiveI/O adapters 284-286 provided in the server computing device. Forexample, the HMC may initiate the execution of a small portion of bootcode, i.e. the miniboot code, that boots the I/O adapter 284-286 andcauses the hypervisor to configure the I/O adapter's TCE tables for usein performing DMA address translations. Since the memory for such TCEtables has already been reserved by the server computing device duringinitial boot of the server computing device, the miniboot code may beexecuted without having to interrupt the normal operation of the servercomputing device. That is, the server computing device may continue toservice user requests while activating the additional I/O adapter284-286 by executing the miniboot code.

The activate code for activating the inactive I/O adapter 284-286provided in the server computing device may be obtained in any suitableway. For example, the user may call the provider of the server computingdevice and purchase an additional license for the additional I/O adapter284-286. In response, the provider of the server computing device mayprovide the user with an activation code for activating the I/O adapter284-286 corresponding to the purchased additional license. As a furtherexample, a user may, via the HMC, send a request for the activation codeto a separate server computing system corresponding to the provider ofthe user's server computing device. The request may be authenticated anda response may be provided with the requested activation code, after theadditional license has been purchased. Other mechanisms for obtainingthe activation code may be used with the illustrative embodiments,without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Activation codes may be provided on an individual I/O adapter basis or asingle activation code may be used to activate more than one I/Oadapter. Thus, for example, the above outlined activation operation maybe repeated for each additional inactive I/O adapter that is to beactivated. Alternatively, if a bulk activation code is provided, asingle entry of an activation code may be used to repeatedly execute theminiboot code to activate a plurality of I/O adapters. In this way, I/Oresources and thus, I/O capacity, of the server computing device may beupgraded on-demand by the user without requiring the ordering andshipping of additional hardware devices or the installation of suchadditional hardware devices by a customer engineer.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating an operation of oneillustrative embodiment for performing capacity upgrades on-demand by anequipment owner. As shown in FIG. 3, an owner of a server computingsystem 300 wishes to upgrade the I/O capacity of the server computingdevice 310 which includes active I/O adapter 312 and inactive I/Oadapters 314-316. The server computing system 300 further includes ahardware management console (HMC) 320 running on a separate HMCcomputing device 322. The HMC computing device 322 may be provided in adesktop form, rack mounted form, or the like.

The server computing system 300 is coupled to one or more data networks330 through which the server computing system 300 may communicate withother computing devices, such as client computing devices 340-350, andprovider server 360. Moreover, an owner of the server computing system300 may communicate with the provider of the server computing device 310via other means, including voice communication by telephone or the like.

While the client computing devices 340-350 are communicating with theserver computing system 300, an owner of the server computing system 300may request an on-demand I/O capacity upgrade from the provider of theserver computing device 310. Such a request may be made by way of a userinterface via the HMC 320 of the HMC computing device 322, by placing atelephone call to a call center associated with the provider, or thelike. In a preferred embodiment, the user may enter a request for acapacity on-demand upgrade via the HMC 320 by selecting an option in auser interface of the HMC 320 and specifying a number of I/O resourcesto be added to the server computing device 310.

The entry of the request via the HMC 320 causes the HMC 320 to send arequest to the provider server 360 for an activation code to activateone or more of the inactive I/O adapters 314-316. The provider server360 may authenticate the request and, if authenticated, provide therequested activation code in a response to the request. Of course, alicense purchasing negotiation may be performed prior to providing theactivation code in a response to the request, if necessary. Such anegotiation may entail specifying terms of the license, obtainingagreement by the owner of the server computing device 310 to the termsof the license, obtaining payment information, authenticating thepayment information, and the like. These actions may be performedmanually via a voice communication with the owner via a telephone systemin an alternative implementation.

If obtained in a response message back from the provider server 360, theactivation code may be automatically entered into the HMC 320 foractivation of a previously inactive I/O adapter 314-316 in the servercomputing device 310. Alternatively, if provided to the owner of theserver computing device 310, an interface may be provided by the HMC 320for entry of the activation code. The activation code may be verified bythe HMC 320 as a valid activation code, such as through a decryption andauthentication process, for example, before performing operations toactivate an inactive I/O adapter 314-316. If the activation code isvalid, then the HMC 320 may initiate the miniboot code 319 in thefirmware 318 of the server computing device 310 to power-up andconfigure the previously inactive I/O adapter 314-316. The miniboot code319 may further communicate with the hypervisor 317 of the servercomputing device 310 to cause the hypervisor 317 to initialize the TCEtables 311 in system memory 313 for the now activated I/O adapter314-316. The memory space for the TCE tables 311 has been previouslyreserved in the system memory 313 during initial boot of the servercomputing device 310, even though the I/O adapters 314-316 were notactive at the time of the initial boot.

Once the above process is complete, the previously inactive I/O adapter314-316 is now activated and usable by the owner of the server computingdevice 310 and client computing devices 340-350. Thus, the I/O capacityof the server computing device 310 is upgraded on-demand withoutinterrupting the operation of the server computing device 310 withregard to handling client computing device requests.

As mentioned above, the HMC 320 may provide a number of user interfacesthrough which a user may initiate a capacity upgrade on-demand operationin accordance with the illustrative embodiments. FIG. 4A illustrates afirst user interface that may be provided by the HMC 320 for initiatingthe capacity upgrade on-demand operation. As shown in FIG. 4A, the userinterface 400 includes a plurality of user selectable options 410-480for specifying the operation that the user wishes to perform. Withparticular importance to the illustrative embodiments herein, one ofthese user selectable options includes an option 410 for performing aCapacity Upgrade on-Demand (CUOD) of the I/O adapters. The other optionsdepicted in FIG. 4A are described in chapter 4 of the IBM eserver p5-590and 595 System Handbook previously referenced above. By selecting option410, a user may initiate a request to a provider server for anactivation code, and possibly a license negotiation, the result of whichshould be an activation code being provided to the user or automaticallyinput to the HMC 320 for use in activating a currently inactive I/Oadapter of the server computing device.

As mentioned above, depending upon the particular implementation chosen,the activation code may be automatically input to the HMC 320 or may bemanually input to the HMC 320. In the case of a manual input of theactivation code, in response to the selection of the option 410 in FIG.4A, a second user interface 490 shown in FIG. 4B may be provided forentry of the activation code. Upon entry of the activation code, eithermanually or automatically, the HMC 320 may verify the activation codeand perform the necessary operations to power-up and initiate theinactive I/O adapter, as previously described.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart outlining an exemplary operation for performing acapacity upgrade on-demand operation in accordance with one illustrativeembodiment. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustration, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustration,can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computerprogram instructions may be provided to a processor or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions which execute on the processor or other programmabledata processing apparatus create means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block or blocks. These computer programinstructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory or storagemedium that can direct a processor or other programmable data processingapparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructionsstored in the computer-readable memory or storage medium produce anarticle of manufacture including instruction means which implement thefunctions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, blocks of the flowchart illustration support combinationsof means for performing the specified functions, combinations of stepsfor performing the specified functions and program instruction means forperforming the specified functions. It will also be understood that eachblock of the flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purposehardware-based computer systems which perform the specified functions orsteps, or by combinations of special purpose hardware and computerinstructions.

It should be appreciated that the operation outlined in FIG. 5 assumesthat a user orders a computing device from a provider, the computingdevice including additional I/O adapters that are not initially licensedby the user. Thus, the user must predict their expected need foradditional I/O adapters in the future and order a computing device withexcess I/O adapters to facilitate such future I/O capacity even thoughthese excess I/O adapters are not initially licensed for use by theuser. The ordered computing device is installed into the computingsystem and coupled to an HMC.

With the computing device coupled to the HMC, the HMC then boots thecomputing device and reserves memory resources for the unlicensed, i.e.inactive, I/O adapters (step 510). The computing device is then madeavailable for use (step 520). The HMC determines whether a request foran on-demand capacity upgrade of the I/O adapters is received from auser (step 530). If not, the operation returns to step 520 where thecomputing device remains available for use.

If a capacity upgrade on-demand (CUOD) request is received from a user,an interface is provided for entry of an activation code (step 540).This embodiment assumes that the activation code is manually input bythe user. However, as mentioned previously above, the CUOD request mayresult in an activation code request being sent from the HMC to aprovider computing system and the activation code being returned inresponse.

Whether or not the activation code is entered manually or receivedautomatically in response to an activation code request being sent to aprovider computing system, the activation code is received (step 550).The input activation code is then verified by the HMC (step 560) and adetermination is made as to whether the activation code is valid (step570). If the activation code is not valid, an error message may beoutput to the user (step 580).

If the activation code is valid, then the HMC calls the miniboot codefor initializing the I/O adapter and any attached I/O devices on the I/Oadapter (step 590). This miniboot code may then power-up and initializethe I/O adapter as well as call the hypervisor to initialize the TCEtables for the I/O adapter using the previously reserved memory for theI/O adapter (step 600). The user, and any clients, may then use thenewly activated I/O adapter and I/O devices (step 610). The operationthen terminates.

Thus, the illustrative embodiments provide a mechanism by which capacityupgrade on-demand operations may be performed with regard to a computingsystem that has excess inactive resources, e.g., I/O adapters. Becausethe mechanisms of the illustrative embodiments reserve memory resourcesfor address translation data structures for the inactive I/O adaptersprior to the activation of these I/O adapters, and the computing systemis provided with miniboot code for powering-up and initializing theinactive I/O adapters, the on-demand upgrade may be performed withoutinterruption of the operation of the computing device. Thus, the upgrademay be performed without having to place the computing device in adowned state. Furthermore, the upgrade may be performed without havingto wait for receipt of an additional hardware device and installation ofthe hardware device by a customer engineer since the hardware is alreadypresent in the computing system but is kept in an inactive state untilthe user's capacity requirements increase.

It should be appreciated that the illustrative embodiments may take theform of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodimentor an embodiment containing both hardware and software elements. In oneexemplary embodiment, the mechanisms of the illustrative embodiments areimplemented in software, which includes but is not limited to firmware,resident software, microcode, etc.

Furthermore, the illustrative embodiments may take the form of acomputer program product accessible from a computer-usable orcomputer-readable medium providing program code for use by or inconnection with a computer or any instruction execution system. For thepurposes of this description, a computer-usable or computer-readablemedium can be any apparatus that can contain, store, communicate,propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with theinstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

The medium may be an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system (or apparatus or device) or apropagation medium. Examples of a computer-readable medium include asemiconductor or solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable computerdiskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), arigid magnetic disk and an optical disk. Current examples of opticaldisks include compact disk—read only memory (CD-ROM), compactdisk—read/write (CD-R/W) and DVD.

A data processing system suitable for storing and/or executing programcode will include at least one processor coupled directly or indirectlyto memory elements through a system bus. The memory elements can includelocal memory employed during actual execution of the program code, bulkstorage, and cache memories which provide temporary storage of at leastsome program code in order to reduce the number of times code must beretrieved from bulk storage during execution.

Input/output or I/O devices (including but not limited to keyboards,displays, pointing devices, etc.) can be coupled to the system eitherdirectly or through intervening I/O controllers. Network adapters mayalso be coupled to the system to enable the data processing system tobecome coupled to other data processing systems or remote printers orstorage devices through intervening private or public networks. Modems,cable modem and Ethernet cards are just a few of the currently availabletypes of network adapters.

The description of the present invention has been presented for purposesof illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention, the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

1. A method, in a data processing system, for enabling an inactiveinput/output (I/O) adapter of the data processing system, comprising:booting the data processing system to an operational state, wherein theinactive I/O adapter is inactive and not initialized after the dataprocessing system is booted; reserving memory resources for the inactiveI/O adapter of the data processing system; receiving a request toactivate the inactive I/O adapter; and executing a miniboot codesequence for initializing the inactive I/O adapter using the reservedmemory resources in response to receiving the request to activate theinactive I/O adapter.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the dataprocessing system comprises a plurality of I/O adapters, and wherein afirst set of I/O adapters in the plurality of I/O adapters are activatedby the booting of the data processing system and a second set of I/Oadapters remain inactive after booting of the data processing system. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a request to activate theinactive I/O adapter comprises receiving an activation code foractivating the inactive I/O adapter.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereinthe activation code is valid for activating a plurality of inactive I/Oadapters in the data processing system.
 5. The method of claim 3,wherein receiving the activation code comprises receiving a user inputspecifying the activation code via a user interface.
 6. The method ofclaim 3, further comprising: verifying the activation code; andoutputting an error message if the activation code is not determined tobe valid as a result of the verification of the activation code.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the execution of the miniboot code isperformed in response to the activation code being determined to bevalid as a result of the verification of the activation code.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: sending a request for anactivation code, for activating the inactive I/O adapter, to a remoteserver in response to receiving the request to activate the inactive I/Oadapter; and receiving the activation code from the remote server. 9.The method of claim 8, wherein the activation code is valid foractivating a plurality of inactive I/O adapters in the data processingsystem.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the request to activate theinactive I/O adapter is received from a hardware management consolecomputing device coupled to the data processing system.
 11. A computerprogram product comprising a computer useable medium having a computerreadable program, wherein the computer readable program, when executedon a computing device, causes the computing device to: boot thecomputing device to an operational state, wherein the inactive I/Oadapter is inactive and not initialized after the computing device isbooted; reserve memory resources for the inactive I/O adapter of thecomputing device; receive a request to activate the inactive I/Oadapter; and execute a miniboot code sequence for initializing theinactive I/O adapter using the reserved memory resources in response toreceiving the request to activate the inactive I/O adapter.
 12. Thecomputer program product of claim 11, wherein the computing devicecomprises a plurality of I/O adapters, and wherein a first set of I/Oadapters in the plurality of I/O adapters are activated by the bootingof the computing device and a second set of I/O adapters remain inactiveafter booting of the computing device.
 13. The computer program productof claim 11, wherein the computer readable program causes the computingdevice to receive a request to activate the inactive I/O adapter byreceiving an activation code for activating the inactive I/O adapter.14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the activationcode is valid for activating a plurality of inactive I/O adapters in thecomputing device.
 15. The computer program product of claim 13, whereinthe computer readable program causes the computing device to receive theactivation code by receiving a user input specifying the activation codevia a user interface.
 16. The computer program product of claim 13,wherein the computer readable program further causes the computingdevice to: verify the activation code; and output an error message ifthe activation code is not determined to be valid as a result of theverification of the activation code.
 17. The computer program product ofclaim 16, wherein the execution of the miniboot code is performed inresponse to the activation code being determined to be valid as a resultof the verification of the activation code.
 18. The computer programproduct of claim 11, wherein the computer readable program furthercauses the computing device to: send a request for an activation code,for activating the inactive I/O adapter, to a remote server in responseto receiving the request to activate the inactive I/O adapter; andreceive the activation code from the remote server.
 19. The computerprogram product of claim 11, wherein the request to activate theinactive I/O adapter is received from a hardware management consolecomputing device coupled to the data processing system.
 20. Anapparatus, comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to theprocessor, wherein the memory contains instructions which, when executedby the processor, cause the processor to: boot the computing device toan operational state, wherein the inactive I/O adapter is inactive andnot initialized after the computing device is booted; reserve memoryresources for the inactive I/O adapter of the computing device; receivea request to activate the inactive I/O adapter; and execute a minibootcode sequence for initializing the inactive I/O adapter using thereserved memory resources in response to receiving the request toactivate the inactive I/O adapter.